Music-leaf turner



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

F. L. BECK ER. Music-Leaf Turner.

INVENTDR:

WITNESSES: mimic/{,9 Mi

3 Sheets-Sheet 3. F. L. BECKER. Music-Leaf Turner.

No. 225,550. Patented Mar. 16, I880.

FIB. IX.

2 HillIIIIIIIIIlIIIIIIIIlI-llllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 2 Y N. PETERS. PNOTD LITHOGRAPNER, WASHINGTON. D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS L. BECKER, OF GALVESTON, TEXAS.

MUSIC-LEAF TURNER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 225,550, dated March 16, 1880.

Application filed December 19, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS L. BECKER, of Galveston, in the county of Galveston and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Turning Leaves of Sheet-Music, Music-Books, and other Books and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure I represents a plan view of my apparatus, show ing the operating mechanism attached to the supporting-frame, which latter also has the function of a portfolio. Fig. II is an enlarged plan view of the pulley mechanism with the lever for turning the leaves. Fig. III is a side elevation of the same. Fig. IV is an enlarged plan view of the mainspring mechanism and left-hand leaf-holder. Fig. V is a side elevation of the same. Fig. VI is a cross-section on line 00 acof Fi IV. Fig. VII is a side view of the stop-pin and the holding mechanism of the lever. Fig. VIII is a detail view of the arm connecting the lever and pulley. Fig. IX is a horizontal cross section through line y y of Fig. VII. Fig. X is a plan view of the pulleys and operating mechanism attached to a piano or similar instrument. Fig. XI is an edge view of part of the portfolio in a closed position. Fig. XII is a view of a leaf of music prepared for the reception of the lever, the latter being shown in two positions.

In the drawings, A A represent the two sides of the portfolio, united by a back, B B, made as plainly shown in Figs. III and XI. To the lower part of the back B B is secured a bracket, 1), in which is journaled a shaft, b, for the reception of the pulleys c and c", preferably made in one piece.

Upon the inner end of shaft 1), which is made square, is secured the arm d, having a slotted lug, d, at its outer end, to which one end of the compound elbow-leverO is attached. This lever consists of a flat bar, 0, curved an d pointed at its outer end, so as to readily pass in behind the prepared music.

An adjustable angle-piece, G, is attached to the lower end of side A,by which the height of the lever G is regulated when in its normal state. On the left-hand side of A is a loop, 0, by which the lever O is held previous to closing the folio, or when the folio is attached to the operating mechanism on the piano or music-stand. A shield, (J prevents wear of the point of the lever U on the folio. To the lever-bar G is secured a smaller lever, 0, running nearly parallel with the former, which passes on the front of the leaf, the two lovers thus holding the leaf in between them.

At the point of the elbow of lever G is attached the arm D, connected thereto by a ballandsocket joint, I), while the other end is similarly attached to the pulley c by socketjoint 0. A small stop-pin, 0 in pulley c checks the movement of lever G when in its upright position.

Both balls on the connecting-arm D are held in position in their sockets by pivoted springs 66 d. A stop-pin, c, entering the hole 6 on the end of a spring, 0, secured to the arm d, serves to hold the lever G in an upright position on the left-hand side, when itis desired to play a dc capo, to turn the leaf back to its original position.

A pivoted lever, f, attached to the arm (I, and a spiral spring, f, on the bracket I), serve to retain the lever 0, while in its upward or downward motion, against the leaf.

A pulley, g, is journaled on the bracket Z) to the right of pulley c, and over said pulley g passes a cord, h, one end of which is secured to pulley 0, while the other is fastened upon a hook, 17,011 the segment i, secured to the upright shaft E. This shaft passes through the piano between two keys, and has on its lower end a pulley, a, of reduced size, to which, again, a heavier cord, a, is attached and secured with the other end, having a loop, to the knee-lever a", pivoted to the bottom of the piano, as best shown in Fig. X. Another cord, is, is attached at one end to the small pulley 0, running in opposite direction to cord h, and is looped on the bent end of a connecting-wire, F, this wire running through a guide, It, to the left. The wire F is there again slightly bent upward, and to this end a cord, Z, is looped. The cord l passes over a pulley, Z, and is secured to a stud, m, which is supported in a bearing, m, and is provided at its upper end with a worm wheel, at, and meshes with a worm, 0, which has on its shaft a suitable button or knob, by which the tension of the mainspring G is regulated.

An adjustable leaf holder, in connection with the mainspring, consists of a lever, H, having a cam-shaped end, which, as it rises, bears upon a curved bar, I, having a spring, 1), arranged under it in a recess, 1). This bar I has two pins, 1 q, between which one end of the mainspring G moves backward and forward as the lever (3 turns the leaf.

Upon the lever H is arranged a slide, 7;, to which the wire L is attached, pressing upon the leaf as soon as it is turned, and placed underneath the wire. Upon the right-hand side of the side A is also arranged an adjustable leat holder, M, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. Suitable angle-pieces 1', upon which the music is placed, are secured to the folio.

Two sliding bolts, N, hold the folio in position on the instrument or music-stand. A wire, 0, is secured to the folioback at its lower end, behind which one or more leaves of music are passed to hold the same. It will be obvious that this folio can be used with any instrument or music-stand by slight changes of the operating mechanism.

In order that the required result of turning the leaves maybe obtained, the music must be prepared in the following manner: A cut, 1, (see Fig. XII,) is first made in the lower edge of the leaves, excepting the covering-leaves. Linen, paper, or other suitable material, 2, having two short cuts, 3 3, is then pasted or secured in any suitable manner upon the leaf lengthwise over the cut. The portion 44 over the out, not having been pasted or secured, is then shoved under the cut 1 under the leaf, so as to permit the lever O of the turning mechanism to pass through the cut 1 under the leaf, while the smaller lever C will pass up in front of the leaf.

If preferred, instead of cutting theleaves in the music, said material may be secured to the rear side of the leaves, as shown in Fig. XIII, in which the material 2 projects slightly below the leaves, and is cut away at each side, so that the music can be placed on the anglepieces 1' r, the projecting part coming between them.

Fig. XIII is a modification of the prepared sheet-music as shown in Fig. XII.

The operation of the whole mechanism is as follows: The folio is first placed upon the music-rack and bolted to the instrument or music-stand. The cord h is then attached to the hook i of the segment. The music or other sheet, prepared as above described, is then placed upon the angle-pieces r. The leaf-holders at the right and the left hand sides are brought to bear upon the blank edges of the music and adjusted. The lever 0, having been at rest up to this time in loop 0 is now liberated and brought to bear upon the rightside leaf, with the point a little under the prepared cut 1. The music is now ready to be turned, no further preparations being required. At the required time of turning over, a motion of the knee against the lever a draws upon the pulley a, which turns the segment 'i a quarter turn, which, by the cord h, turns the pulleys and imparts motion to the double lever O by the connecting mechanism. Said lever C first rises into the position shown in dotted lines on side A, having the leaf between its parts 0 and G. Then, by means of the stoppin 0 the lever cannot rise any higher, and is carried around in that position, with a leaf, from the right to the left hand side of the folio. The lever G is now in position shown in full in Fig. II. The pressure of the knee against the lever a, being now released, the lever C will drop down into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. II. From thence it will be carried back to its normal state by means of the power of the mainspring G. As stated already, in case of repetition of a part of music, wishing to turn a leaf backward, the lever O is held in the position shown in full in Fig. II by means of the stop-pin 0. The stop-pin is operated upon by a moments pressure during leisure time while playing from the page to be repeated, while at the same time the knee will continue to press against lever to. At the moment the lever 0 turns the leaf from right to left the leaf-holder on the left-hand side rises, admitting the leaf underneath of it, and then, as the lever 0 drops down, presses again upon the blank edge of theleaf while the lever 0 passes over to the right-hand side.

If desired, the music may be left in the folio and closed up with it, having previously to closing secured the lever O by the loop 0. The attached knee or foot mechanism, with segment i, may remain on the instrument.

For musicstands only a wire or long cord reaching down to a foot-pedal fastened to the cord h is needed, thus requiring the least preparation.

Having now described my invention, I will. also state what I consider its many advantages over all others made heretofore, none of which have come into general use to my knowledge.

All leaf-turners which I have seen will not be ready for operation until the leaves, previous to commencil'ig to play, are inserted in forks or laid between wires, thus requiring great preparation at the moment when the player, least wishes to lose time, whereas no appreciable time is required for my apparatus to be ready for turning when the player himself is ready.

All leaf-turners, as far as I know, are limited to a few pages only, or likewise to a certain size of sheet-music or books. My leafturner will turn as many leaves without interruption as conveniently may be bound together; also operate upon small music and book sheets as well as upon large ones. It does not cover the printed matter while at rest.

Most leaf-turners are quite complicated and costly. My apparatus is simple, comparatively speaking,to others. Itis durable, easily taken to pieces for cleaning, easily understood and learned to operate. It is quickly attached to a piano or music-stand, and a child can work it. It never fails to take up a leaf; neither can it take two leaves at a time. It moves noiselessly. It turns the leaf forward or backward, at the will or pleasure of the player. It does not tear the music. It also answers the purpose of a portfolio. The music is prepared at leisure hours by the musician him self or other person, requiring hardly any cost and with but little time.

The leaf-holders firmly hold the leaves, so the machine may be used for playing in open air, while a considerable breeze may blow without affecting the leaves. It will bind loose leaves, although it works best upon leaves that are stitched through the back.

Having now described my invention and the method of operating the same, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a leaf-turner, the bent lever 0, consisting of the pointed bar 0 and small lever O, curved at theirouter ends, as shown, and constructed and arranged for operation substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In combination with the bent lever 0, consisting of the pointed bar 0 and the small lever O, curved at their outer ends, the bar (I, provided with the slotted lug d, and the shaft b, constructed and arranged substantially as described and shown.

3. In combination with the lever 0, constructed as described, the arm D, having the ball-and-socket joint D at one end and the ball-and-socket joint 0 at the other end, and the pulley 0, all arranged as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination of the lever 0, constructed as described, with the arm d, having slotted lug d, the shaft 1), the arm D, the pulley c, and the springs d d, all constructed and arranged substantially as shown, and for the purpose specified.

5. The combination of the lever 0, arm cl, shaft b, bracket 1), with the stop-pin 0, hole 0, and spring 0, all constructed and arranged as shown, and for the purpose specified.

6. The combination of the lever 0, arm (I, shaft 7), bracket b, arm D, pulley c, springs d d, with the stop-pin 0, hole 6, and spring a, all constructed and arranged substai'itially as set forth.

7. The combination of the lever 0, arm cl, with theleverf, spiral spring f and the bracket 1), all constructed and arranged substantiallyas described.

8. The combination of the lever 0, arm (1, shaft 1), bracket 1), pulley c, pulley g, cord h,

the segment i, and shaft E, all constrm arranged for operation substantially as and described.

9. The combination of the lever 0, arm 6, shaft 1), bracket 1), pulley c, pulley g, cordh, with the segment i, shaft E, pulley a, cord to, and lever a, all constructed and arranged for operation substantially as shown and set forth.

10. The combination of the lever 0, arm d, shaft 1), bracket 1), arm D, pulley c, pulley c, and cord 7:, all constructed and arranged substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

11. The combination of the lever O and its operating mechanism, constructed substantially as described, with the connecting-wire F, cord l, pulley l, stud m, bearing m, wormwheel n. worm 0, and inainspring G, all constructed and arranged substantially as specified.

12. The combination,in a leaf-turner, of the bar I, having pins q q, spring 1), recess 1), with the cam-lever H, slide and wire L, all constructed and arranged substantially as and for the purpose described.

13. In combination with the leaf-turning mechanism, the portfolio herein described, consisting, essentially, of the hinged sides A A and back B, provided with a stiffening-piece,

B, constructed substantially as shown, and

for the purpose set forth.

1 f. In combination with a leaf-turnin g mechanism, the portfolio herein described, having the sides A A, back B B, and supportingbrackets r r, bolts N N, and leaf-holder M, all constructed substantially as set forth.

15. In combination with a leaf turning mechanism, the portfolio herein described, having the sides A A, back B B, binding-wire O, shield 0 and adjustable angle-piece 0", constructed and arranged substantially as and for the purpose specified.

16. The method herein described of preparing music for use, in connection with the leafturner, constructed as set forth, consisting in first making a cut, 1, in the lower edge of the leaves and securing thereto any suitable material, 2, provided with cuts 3 3, and slipping the portion 4: under the cut, substantially as described.

17. The leaf-turner herein described, consisting of the portfolio A A B B, lever C, and its operating mechanism, the leaf-holders L and M, and their connecting mechanism, all constructed and arranged for operation substantially as shown, and for the purpose herein described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 16th day of December, 1879.

FRANCIS L. BECKER.

Witnesses:

Jos. '1. K. PLANT, CHARLES KNo'r'r. 

